Paul, also in his thirties, lives at home with his parents like his friend Leonard. He and his parents are happy cohabitating, and he can think of nowhere else he’d rather live. Paul’s father, Peter, is a retired economist, and his mother, Helen, is a semi-retired teacher. Their daughter, Grace, moved out of the family home when she reached adulthood and is in the midst of planning her wedding.

Leonard enjoys an amicable relationship with Paul’s parents. Arriving at their house to see Paul, he chats with Peter and Helen in the living room. Peter is watching a quiz show on the television, and Helen is doing a jigsaw puzzle. After their chat, Leonard heads upstairs to Paul’s room. He is surprised to find Paul in what looks like a bathrobe but soon learns that Paul has begun Judo classes. Leonard, who writes children’s encyclopedias, knows about martial arts from having written about them, and he congratulates his friend on his new hobby.

They head back downstairs to play a board game. Paul selects Yahtzee. As they play, conversation flows easily. Paul has always been fascinated by the world around him, so he reads back issues of National Geographic. Leonard, because of his work, also maintains a healthy interest in a variety of subjects. Neither man follows current events, but each has a wealth of knowledge about a wide range of topics. Today, they chat about the expansion of the universe. Both Leonard and Paul find the conversation edifying, and when Leonard leaves, each is lost in thought.

Leonard works on an encyclopedia entry about the ancient Romans. He uses an office that is shared between several companies and keeps his “noise-cancelling/society-repelling” headphones on as he writes (22). His feedback for this piece was negative, which he attributes to the editor being a subject-matter expert who has little experience with children. Leonard’s task is not merely to be accurate but to craft a piece of writing that children will find engaging. Frustrated, he gets up to make a cup of tea, hoping that he doesn’t have to have an awkward conversation with anyone at the kettle. He notices a message from Paul, who apologetically explains that Grace is limiting the number of wedding guests and asks Leonard to be Paul’s plus one instead of getting his own invitation. Leonard easily agrees and then reflects that his plus one was probably meant to have been his mother.

Grace has always cared about Paul. She was protective of him when he was a child, and her role as “big sister” offset some of the loneliness of her own childhood.

In primary school, Grace had one close friend who transferred to another school. Everyone else had already formed their friend groups, so Grace was left alone. However, after the tragic death of one of their classmates, the children abandoned their set social order and began to play together. Grace integrated into a group of girls whom she would remain friends with until completing secondary school.

Grace has always loved her parents, although her relationship with Helen became strained in adolescence. She and Peter grew closer and remained close into adulthood. Although Grace has made friends at college and after, she is a somewhat solitary person who finds inspiration from within.

Paul spends the next few days alone, contemplating the ever-expanding universe. He finds the idea unsettling. Then, an article entirely unrelated to science catches his eye: The local Chamber of Commerce is in a quandary. When professional communication was done primarily by letter, there was a set of appropriate phrases that most people used to begin and end their letters. Email is both less personal and less anonymous; no one begins an email with “to whom it may concern” or “dear sir or madam” (32-33). The Chamber has decided to hold a contest to find new phrases.

Leonard and Paul discuss this competition with Helen and Peter over their weekly game of Scrabble. They all relish this tradition. Later in the evening, as Paul is falling asleep, an idea comes to him. He grabs his beside-the-bed pencil and writes out his entry for the contest.

Grace takes an afternoon off work to see her parents. She is trying to spend more time with them as they age. Although they do not appreciate their daughter characterizing them as elderly, they do enjoy the chance to see her more often. She stops at a bookstore on her way to lunch with them and purchases a novel for her father and an Indian cookbook for her mother. Grace is usually able to choose books her father will like, but she has no idea that her mother has long since grown tired of the cooking and gardening books that Grace usually picks for her.

Lunch is amiable. The three discuss Paul’s role at the wedding, noting his difficulty with tasks he is uninterested in. They can’t settle on a reading that might suit him, and each worries that his uninterest will be apparent during his speech. Grace reflects on their protective roles in Paul’s life. She was tasked, as a child, with watching out for her brother, and she continues to do so long into adulthood. She hopes that marrying will relieve her of some of these duties and that her parents will also encourage Paul to become more independent. At the end of the meal, Helen gives Grace some advice: The trick to marriage is growing and changing with your partner; you have to be willing to have a new relationship with the same person.

Paul often works fill-in shifts for the post office. He wakes early on Monday morning in case he receives a call. Peter and Helen sleep late, so he typically has the house to himself when he gets up. He refills the bird feeders, knowing that he will not be able to concentrate on his own breakfast until the birds are fed. He eats the same breakfast every day and is happy with the routine lack of variety.

When a call comes in, he heads down to the post office. He delivers the day’s mail, explaining along the way that he is just filling in for the regular mail carrier. He finds the work enjoyable and likes its part-time nature: He is happy not to be taking an entire job from someone who needs it more than he does but relishes being there for people who need a day off.